Nutrition Counseling Project begins at DSWD-7

CEBU, Philippines - The National Nutrition Council-7 recently launched the Body Mass Index Assessment and Nutrition Counseling Project as one way of promoting healthy lifestyle and good nutrition.

NNC-7 nutrition program coordinator, Parolita Mission, emphasized the key numbers, "5-2-100" which means that every day one must have at least five (5) servings of fruit and vegetables, two (2) maximum hours of watching television and/or facing the computer, one (1) hour of physical activity, zero (0) episode of smoking and zero (0) consumption of sugary drinks such as soft drinks, powdered juices, among others.

Mission, speaking before the event at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-7, which  was chosen as the pilot area for the program among its partner agencies, underscored that the latter should serve as role models, being focal institutions for nutrition.

"We should walk our talk", said Mission in a statement.

In the same statement, DSWD-7 Assistant Regional Director for Administration, Herminia L. Cabahug thanked NNC-7 for choosing their office as the pilot agency for the project.

"This opens the opportunity for us to care for the health and nutritional well-being of our employees which is often neglected with the volume of clients we are receiving each day", Cabahilug said, adding that they will continue the project for the benefit of its employees.

This advocacy project of NNC-7 was in partnership with DSWD-7 and its employees' cooperative.

Fifty one DSWD-7 employees benefited from the BMI and nutrition counseling services provided by NNC-7's in-house registered dietitian nutritionists, wherein employees' blood sugar and cholesterol levels were also assessed with the services provided by Cebu Blood Donors Society. (FREEMAN)